This invention relates to dental apparatus and procedures in general, and more particularly to dental implant systems and methods for effecting dental restorations using the same.
In many individuals, disease and/or injury may result in the loss of one or more natural teeth. As a result, various techniques have been developed to replace such lost natural teeth with prosthetic appliances.
For example, where sufficient natural teeth remain adjacent to the location where a prosthetic tooth is to be positioned, a bridge may be fabricated.
Alternatively, if insufficient natural teeth remain to support and stabilize a bridge, a denture may be fabricated, with the denture seating against the patient""s gingiva.
In still other situations, a dental implant may be used. With such a dental implant, a hole is generally first made in the upper or lower jaw bone, as appropriate, and then the distal end of the implant is fixed in the recipient bone. e.g., by screwing the implant into the bone. The dental implant is generally sized and positioned so that the proximal end of the implant protrudes at least partially into the space where the prosthetic tooth is to be positioned. Then the prosthetic tooth is fixed to the proximal end of the implant, such that the prosthetic tooth generally occupies the space of the lost tooth.
While such dental implants can be effective, they also tend to suffer from a number of problems. Among other things, with current dental implants, the longitudinal axis of the prosthetic tooth must generally follow the longitudinal axis of the implant which is seated in the bone. Unfortunately, the optimal axial alignment for the implant seated in the bone may not necessarily be the same as the optimal axial alignment for the prosthetic tooth extending into the mouth. In particular, it has been found that the optimal axial alignment for the implant tends to be dictated by the specific anatomy of the patient""s recipient jaw bone, while the optimal axial alignment of the prosthetic tooth tends to be dictated by the geometry of the patient""s bite, lip support, phonetics and aesthetics. Thus, with current dental implants, the dental practitioner typically faces a choice of optimizing the orientation of the restoration for either (1) the implant seated in the bone, or (2) the prosthetic tooth extending into the mouth, or (3) some compromise in between. In any case, the result is generally a compromise of some sort.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a novel dental implant which avoids the problems associated with the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for effecting a dental restoration.
These and other objects are addressed by the present invention, which comprises a novel dental implant system and a novel method for effecting a dental restoration using the same.
In one preferred form of the invention, the dental implant system comprises an implant fixture adapted to be deployed in a bone; an impression coping adapted to be selectively deployed on the implant fixture and in a dental impression; a laboratory analog adapted to be selectively deployed on the impression coping and in a dental cast; a spherical abutment adapted to be selectively deployed on the laboratory analog; and a multiaxis abutment adapted to be adjustably deployed on the spherical abutment.
And in one preferred form of the invention, the method for effecting a dental restoration comprises:
providing a dental implant system comprising:
an implant fixture adapted to be deployed in a bone;
an impression coping adapted to be selectively deployed on the implant fixture and in a dental impression;
a laboratory analog adapted to be selectively deployed on the impression coping and in a dental cast;
a spherical abutment adapted to be selectively deployed on the laboratory analog; and
a multiaxis abutment adapted to be adjustably deployed on the spherical abutment;
positioning the implant fixture in the bone;
positioning the impression coping on the implant fixture;
making a dental impression of the impression coping and the surrounding portions of the patient""s mouth;
removing the dental impression, with the impression coping attached thereto, from the patient""s mouth;
positioning the laboratory analog on the impression coping;
making a cast of the laboratory analog and a portion of the impression coping;
removing the dental impression from the impression coping;
removing the impression coping from the laboratory analog;
positioning the spherical abutment on the laboratory analog;
positioning the multiaxis abutment on the spherical abutment and angling the multiaxis abutment atop the spherical abutment to the extent required for the dental restoration;
securing the multiaxis abutment in its angled position atop the spherical abutment;
generating a permanent abutment from the combined spherical abutment/multiaxis abutment, preferably through a so-called xe2x80x9clost wax/plastic techniquexe2x80x9d well known in the dental arts;
positioning the permanent abutment on the laboratory analog;
generating a prosthetic tooth for the permanent abutment; and
removing the permanent abutment from the laboratory analog and positioning the permanent abutment on the implant fixture.